The Garden Glamour blog is the "little black dress" for gardeners. The "must read" postings will offer garden stories about gardening’s best practices including when to plant, put the garden to bed, pruning, color in the garden; garden tips; advice on what tools work best; garden design; opinions on garden trends; garden book reviews; garden lecture review snapshots; lots and lots of images, and funny, insouciant anecdotes about the humbling, glorious and glamorous world of Gardens!

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

This holiday the emphasis is on great food and drink. While the food often gets the spotlight - don’t get sidetracked by all the stuffing and gravy and miss out on creating a special, holiday-themed cocktail menu.

Here are a few of my favorites, with the emphasis on using lots of seasonal ingredients.

Hard Cider owns a very prominent place in American history - so what better way to celebrate Thanksgiving - this most American of holidays? And surely a drink that harkens to our colonists’ roots is needed to nurse our souls in this post-election sense of anxiety.

Gingerbread Sacrifice

Ingredients

1.3/4 oz Vodka

.33 oz Lemon Juice

3.1/2 oz Apple Cider

1.3/4 oz Orange Liqueur

A little Agave syrup

Gingerbread crumbs

Method

Rim a martini cocktail glass with agave syrup then roll in gingerbread biscuit crumbs. Pour 11/2 oz of lemon juice, 1 ¾ ozs of orange liqueur and vodka into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into the cocktail glass. Add 3.5 ozs of apple cider and stir.

More American roots cocktails

Here is another cocktail with a decidedly patriotic American history. I’m serving it as part of our Thanksgiving cocktails - not only because of its antecedent or pedigree, but also because the distillery is located near our Garden State home - and maybe most important :) I was inspired to create a cocktail and garnish for my soon-to-be-published book - Finishing Touches: The Art of Garnishing the Cocktail (you can get in pre-sale!)

Here is an excerpt I created and wrote for the cocktail and garnish book, along with suggested food pairing.

For more than 300 years, the Laird family has produced AppleJack in Freehold, Monmouth County New Jersey - the Garden State since 1698. It is the holder of America's first commercial distillery with License #1. According to the company, Robert Laird - a descendent of founder Alexander - was a Revolutionary War soldier serving under George Washington, and the Laird family supplied the troops with Applejack. Historical records show that, prior to 1760, George Washington wrote to the Laird family requesting their recipe for producing Applejack, which the Laird family gladly supplied. Entries appear in Washington’s diary in the 1760s regarding his production of "cyder spirits."

I Cannot Tell A Lie

Ingredients:

2 jiggers Lairds AppleJack brandy

1 jigger caramel simple syrup

4 jiggers crisp apple sparkling water

4 shakes Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters

Method

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Pour over rocks in tall highball glass. Garnish with apple slice and cinnamon stick.

Highlight the cocktail’s rustic, Americana roots. Feature the snacks on a wooden cutting board, sprinkle Cracker Jacks caramel coated popcorn and peanuts around the presentation; add apples - in various colors: red, greens - and various sizes, including those adorable Lady Apples. Some apples can be used as candle holders for an “honest” glow.

Toss in a Jacks & Balls (game) for a whimsical tablescape decor touch. Provide festive red and white straws to help spark an “honest” cocktail conversation!

While not American, this hard cider is undoubtedly delicious. And with all “honesty” our colonist ancestors had to learn their cider crafting somewhere - bringing over skills from their homelands and their ancestors.Rekorderlig is a premium hard cider brand born and brewed in Sweden. I was fortunate to attend a few taste-testing opportunity recently. The cider is delicious served over ice with fresh fruit garnishes or mixed into cocktails, Rekorderlig is available in five flavors:

Pear

Strawberry-Lime

Wild Berries

Passionfruit

Spiced Apple.

Rekorderlig Spiced Apple Hard Cider is $4.99 for 16.9 ounce bottle. The company claims it is the only cider on the market that can be enjoyed either hot or cold; the product is a beautiful blend of fresh, effervescent apple cider infused with vanilla and warming cinnamon.

Hot Swede

Ingredients:

1 oz spiced rum

1 tbs honey - local is best

¼ lemon (squeezed)

1 cinnamon stick

Half a bottle of hot Spiced Apple Hard Cider

Method:

Mix the rum, honey, and lemon together; Add hot Rekordlig and stir. Serve with a cinnamon stick and an orange wheel.

The Pear Jam

Ingredients:

1 oz Ford’s Gin

.75 oz lime

Method:

Muddle 1 Sprig Fresh Mint

Shake and strain into glass

Top with Rekorderlig Pear Cider

Garnish with Fresh Mint

Another spirit with lots of history that has recently experienced a resurgence is the small batch distilleries in New York, particilarly in the Hudson Valley. In fact, the number of craft distilleries increased by more than 25 percent in just one year (from 2014 to 2015) up to nearly 80. (Thanks, Governor Cuomo!)

I love Hudson Whiskey, the first legal pot-stilled whiskey distilled in New York state since prohibition, who sources 90% of its grains from within 40 miles of the distillery.

The distillery notes in a press release sent to me recently, “For the first time ever the Maple Cask Rye is available in 750ml bottles in addition to the well-known 375ml apothecary-style bottles. This Hudson Whiskey variant is the result of a partnership with Wood’s Syrup maple tappers who use Hudson Whiskey barrels to age their syrup then returns them to the distillery to finish off the Maple Cask Rye and impart a subtle maple sweetness into the classic whiskey. The Maple Cask Rye will have a recommended retail price of $54.99 and will join Hudson Whiskey’s signature Baby Bourbon, Manhattan Rye and New York Corn variants in larger size bottles, affirming the industry and consumer demand for Hudson Whiskey’s award-winning spirits.

“With Hudson, we set out to make great whiskey in New York again,” said Hudson Whiskey co-founder and craft distilling pioneer Ralph Erenzo. “With the investment from William Grant & Sons, we’ve been able to expand our production to support increased demand without ever cutting corners. BTW William Grant is the global brand that is genius at tapping into the crafted, hand-made spirits without losing its step as a major producer. Best of all worlds. Cheers to you.

Maple Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

2 parts Hudson Maple Cask Rye

Teaspoon good maple syrup

3-4 dashes (to taste) aromatic bitters

Garnish: apple slice and cinnamon stick

Method:

To an Old Fashioned glass, add maple syrup, then bitters, then ice, followed by the Hudson Maple Cask Rye. Stir well to mix and chill. Add garnish and serve.

Fall Back

Ingredients:

2 parts Hudson Maple Cask Rye

1⁄4 part fresh lemon juice

1⁄4 part maple syrup

2 parts apple cider

Cayenne pepper

Method:

To an Old Fashioned/rocks glass, add ice, then lemon juice, then maple syrup, then whiskey, then apple cider, and stir briefly to mix. Add dash cayenne pepper on top, and serve with straw.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the rum and lime juice and shake well. Pour the Q Ginger Beer into an ice-filled collins glass and then top with apple cider and then the shaken rum. Garnish with an apple slide and a lime wedge. Try to balance the lime wedge on the apple slice like a sinking ship. It gets easier on the third drink.

Sailor Jerry Apple Ginger Punch

Ingredients:

1 ½ parts Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum

2 parts sour mix

1 part apple juice

1 part ginger syrup

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Method:

Add ingredients into mixing glass, add ice, shake, strain over ice into a rocks glass and garnish with an apple slice and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

So Cheers! To the garden creatives that dreamed up this cutie pie. I might get two and arrange them as mirror decor - across from one another -- with garden and bar accessories framing the bar decor.

Gardener’s Supply Company is being honored with a national, “Green Thumb,” award by the Direct Gardener’s Association for its innovative new product, “Plant-A-Bar.” Plant-a-Bar, one of only five winners, is an elevated cedar planter box with an integrated bar shelf so you can grow herbs for your favorite cocktails and then harvest a fresh sprig as you relax at the bar.

The DGA Green Thumb Awards recognize outstanding new garden products available by mail or online. The awards are sponsored by the Direct Gardening Association, the world's largest non-profit association of companies that sell garden products directly to consumers.

Plant-a-Bar is made in the USA and it’s ‘green,’ because it’s crafted from reclaimed wood. Only the best reclaimed pieces are selected to form strong, solid panels which are planed smooth to highlight the attractive variations in color and grain.

The skilled craftsmen in the Vermont factory transform the panels into a uniquely beautiful combination of planter and furniture.

Durable butcher-block cedar sides are crafted from reclaimed wood, with rustproof aluminum corners and trim. Bar shelf folds down when not in use.

To make the most of our precious forest resources, Gardener’s Supply uses reclaimed pieces of high-quality North American cedar from lumber mill trimmings and give them new life in the butcher-block planters. Only the best reclaimed pieces are selected and glued together to form strong, solid panels, which are planed smooth to highlight the attractive variations in color and grain. The skilled craftsmen in their Vermont factory transform the panels into these uniquely beautiful planters.

Product Details

Assembly required

​Butcher-block cedar, aluminum

4' L x 39-1/4" W (including shelf) x 42" H

9-3/4" planting depth

Holds 180 quarts of potting mix

Weighs 123 lbs.

Ships in two 60-70 lb. boxes

“Plant-a-Bar has been a real hit with our customers,” says Gardener’s Supply spokesperson Claudia Marshall, “so we’re delighted to see this product getting the industry recognition it deserves.”

Plant-A-Bars are available in 2 sizes. The 2x4 bar is $549 and the 2x8 bar is $699. For more details and to make a purchase, call 1-800-427-3363 or visit www.gardeners.com.

About Gardener's Supply Company

Gardener’s Supply Company is a 100% employee-owned company of avid gardeners providing garden-tested, earth-friendly products combined with practical information. Located in Burlington, Vermont, the company has won many awards for its innovative gardening products, online gardening content and progressive management style. Gardener's Supply is also a Certified B Corporation and donates 8-percent of its profits to charity. www.gardeners.com

About Me

Leeann's first
book: "The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook" is
available now. "New York City Homegrown Cookbook" to follow.

Leeann has
worked in restaurants and food catering and cooks with passion, using food ingredients
from local NYC Greenmarkets and her herb and farm-ette in the Garden State.

She writes a
Food & Drink column for Examiner.com, curating the food spectrum that
dazzles and elevates the radical New York food world.

She writes two
blogs. "Master Chefs and their Gardens" chronicles the making of the
book, "The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook," as well as
the nexus of garden art and culinary art, food events, lectures, Greenmarkets,
growers, cookbook reviews, and food stories. "Garden Glamour" is the
little black dress for gardeners, highlighting best practices, lectures, garden
book reviews, romantic and glamorous gardens and insouciant anecdotes about the
humbling world of gardening.

Leeann
contributed the chapter Public Relations and Marketing Communications to the
successful "Public Garden Management: A Complete Guide to the Planning and
Administration of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta."

Garden
Specialist and principal of Duchess Designs, LLC, Leeann designs artful,
sustainable gardens that tell stories & are endlessly beguiling--in every
season. Leeann received a Certificate in Landscape Design from The New York
Botanical Garden. She worked at NYBG and was Director of Communications,
Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Leeann is an award-winning landscape designer, earning
top honors in the first Broadway in Bloom contest. Two Duchess Designs gardens
are featured in "Cottages and Mansions of the Jersey Shore." Several
garden designs are highlighted in NJ Design magazine. Leeann has served as
judge for the Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest and the New Jersey Flower and
Garden Show. Leeann is a member of MetroHort Group, The Garden Writer's
Association, The Horticultural Society of NY, and The Garden Conservancy.
Leeann designed The Garden Pendant Collection. She's written garden book
reviews for The Two River Times and the Wall Street Journal. Leeann nurtures a
small rooftop garden at her home in Gotham, and herb, edible and display
gardens at her Garden State home.